New Delhi: A Delhi-bound SpiceJet flight made an emergency landing at Patna airport on Sunday morning after a bird hit and one engine shut mid-air, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. A major accident was averted, airport officials added. The aircraft had taken off from Patna's Jaiprakash International Airport at 12.10 am. As per reports, one of the fans of this aircraft caught fire a few minutes after take-off. Following this, the cabin crew announced that the plane had caught fire and so it was decided to make an emergency landing at the airport.
Meanwhile, the Patna District Magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh said, "The Delhi-bound flight had returned to Patna airport after locals noticed a fire in the aircraft and informed district and airport officials. The reason behind this incident may be a technical glitch. The engineering team is analyzing the cause of the fire." Confirming the same, a passenger said, "there was an emergency landing. We were close to Arrah when the announcement was made."
"There was no panicky situation at all. No damage was done either," another noted, speaking to ETV Bharat. "According to our information, everyone is safe. The exact reason behind the glitch has not been determined yet. Arrangements will be made to send passengers to Delhi using a different aircraft," Digha MLA Sanjeev Chaurasia said.
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All 183 passengers along with two infants have deboarded safely and an alternate flight has been arranged by SpiceJet airlines for the passengers, the Director of Patna airport said. The incident is a matter of investigation, he added.
Some of the passengers who were aboard the plane said, "We were terribly scared. We got to know about the fire only after the announcement. Our lives were saved thanks to the pilot's understanding." The passengers also said that there was some disturbance in the plane during takeoff and a loud noise was heard at the time of takeoff.
Earlier in May, a Mumbai-Durgapur flight of Spicejet ran into severe turbulence during its descent phase that led to injuries to 14 passengers and three cabin crew members.
